Chapter 514

Ning Zhixi nodded and touched the warm "Xia" token in her bosom.

The token emitted no glow in the night, but its faint, elusive warmth in her hand seemed to resonate subtly with some distant place—the closer they moved southwest, the faintly stronger the sensation became.

"Senior Brother Chen."

She changed her address, hesitating slightly, "You mentioned earlier you're interested in similar ancient relics—do you have any clues about other 'keys'?"

Chen Mu neither denied nor fully admitted: "I have suspicions, still needing verification."

Ning Zhixi wisely asked no more.

The gap in their cultivation was vast; Chen Mu's willingness to cooperate with her was already rare.

All she could offer, besides this accidentally acquired "Xia Yao," was perhaps the Herbal King Valley disciples' familiarity with flora and geography, and medicinal knowledge useful in exploring ruins.

…

Three days later, the two had penetrated deep into the southwestern wilderness.

The surroundings gradually changed: vegetation shifted from dense to sparse, the air filled with a faint sulfur scent, and the temperature slowly rose.

Exposed rocks were mostly crimson or dark brown, the ground dry and hard.

"We should be close."

Ning Zhixi consulted a crude ancient map obtained from the Cai family, pointing toward a distant range of mist-shrouded mountains whose peaks faintly glowed dark red.

"Ancient texts record that Yan Zhuo Mountain is perpetually hot, with active earthfire and abundant sulfuric toxic mists—ordinary birds and beasts cannot approach. If the Xia family's ancestral land truly lies deep within this mountain, its outer reaches must be heavily guarded."

Indeed, the closer they drew, the more intense the heat became, and the spiritual energy grew tainted with violent fire toxins.

Ordinary Innate Realm cultivators would suffer discomfort if they lingered here long.

At the mountain's base, they could already see cracked earth baked by extreme heat and scattered white geothermal vents.

Chen Mu quietly extended his spiritual sense, covering dozens of li ahead.

The mountain's interior indeed contained active fire-element spiritual energy veins; many areas reached extreme temperatures, even forming natural fire-soul zones.

Simultaneously, he sensed several discordant energies.

Not human—rather, poisonous insects and fire-affinity aberrant beasts adapted to this extreme environment, and even a few faint, coldly sinister energies lingered near several earthfire caves.

"There are traces of demonic cultivators, but they don't fully match the Blood Refining Sect's methods," Chen Mu said, retracting his spiritual sense.

Clearly, more than one faction had set its sights here.

"Shall we enter?"

Ning Zhixi asked, already subtly circulating her true qi to shield herself from the increasingly scorching air and drifting toxic mists.

"Since we've come, we must enter."

Chen Mu stepped forward first, crossing into Yan Zhuo Mountain's territory.

A wave of heat slammed into them; the rocks beneath their feet were scalding.

With a flick of thought, a trace of Tiangong Realm aura naturally flowed, repelling the heat—and simultaneously, Ning Zhixi felt her surroundings grow suddenly clear.

Ning Zhixi inwardly marveled at Chen Mu's unfathomable cultivation, quickly following.

The two followed a nearly obliterated path on the ancient map, blurred by wild grass and heat haze.

After about an hour, ahead lay a crimson stone forest, jagged rocks twisting the vision with heat.

At the forest's entrance stood several broken stone steles, their inscriptions eroded beyond recognition, yet faint traces of ancient patterns resembling those on the "Xia" token could still be discerned.

"This seems like some kind of marker or residual formation from the Xia family's outer perimeter," Ning Zhixi carefully examined.

Chen Mu scanned the stone forest; though its arrangement appeared chaotic, his powerful spiritual sense detected faint, rhythmic traces of residual spiritual energy—a relic of a long-dead protective or labyrinthine array.

"Does the token react?" Chen Mu asked.

Ning Zhixi drew out the "Xia" token.

The moment it was exposed to the air before the stone forest, its surface temperature rose slightly, its color brightened a touch, and the ancient "Xia" character on its face glowed with a faint golden-red shimmer.

"It's changing!"

Ning Zhixi whispered.

Chen Mu nodded—direction was correct.

The "Xia Yao" responded when near environments tied to it.

At that moment, sudden change erupted!

"Shii! Shiiii!"

Several sharp whistling sounds shot from deep within the stone forest, carrying searing heat and foul poison, aimed straight at Chen Mu and Ning Zhixi's vital points.

They were three crimson spikes, their tips glowing with a dark blue sheen.

"Watch out!"

Ning Zhixi cried softly, her longsword instantly unsheathed, its blade unfolding like a water curtain to deflect the two spikes aimed at her.

The spikes struck the blade with a "chii-chii" sound, corroding faint white marks—proof of their extreme toxicity.

Chen Mu merely flicked his sleeve casually; invisible force surged forth, deflecting the spikes aimed at him, which plunged deep into the scorching rocks beside them, immediately corroding small pits that smoked with greenish vapor.

"Zhi-zhi—"

Piercing shrieks rose as seven or eight creatures emerged from the shadows of the stone forest—scorpion-like, entirely crimson, with forked tails and grotesque mouthparts.

Their eyes glowed with bloodthirsty light, radiating qi comparable to Innate Realm cultivators—clearly unique fire-poison aberrant beasts of this region.

"It's 'Yan Du Xie'! Beware their tail stingers and poison spikes—dual fire and poison attributes, extremely hard to deal with!"

Ning Zhixi recognized the beasts, her tone solemn.

One or two alone she could handle, but seven or eight together, with terrain advantage, were troublesome.

Chen Mu didn't even spare them a second glance—he merely curled his finger and lightly flicked toward the Yan Du Xie.

Hum—

A faint, nearly inaudible hum.

The air rippled like water, a faint ripple barely visible, sweeping over the several Flame Poison Scorpions.

"Squeak—"

The shrieks cut off abruptly.

The several grotesque Flame Poison Scorpions stiffened simultaneously, then, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, their carapaces shattered piece by piece; their fluids had not yet spurted when a stronger force crushed them into the finest powder, which drifted softly through the scorching air, leaving not a trace.

Ning Zhixi paused for a moment, then silently sheathed her sword.

She once again felt directly the terrifying power of the "companion" beside her.

A group of beasts that a Dihuan Realm cultivator must handle with caution were, before him, no different from dust.

Chen Mu seemed merely to have brushed off some dust; his gaze turned toward the depths of Shi Lin, where something more subtle had paused for an instant the moment the Flame Poison Scorpions were slain, then swiftly retreated deeper still.

"It seems someone has arrived ahead of us, 'waiting' here."

Chen Mu's tone remained calm; he stepped forward first, entering Shi Lin.

Ning Zhixi tightened her grip on the token in her hand, feeling its warmth grow clearer; she steadied herself and followed closely behind.